Heretofore molded cartons for fragile articles, such as eggs, have included a tray section having cavities for the articles to be packaged and have been provided with a cover section hinged to the tray section and completely covering the eggs or other articles contained in the carton. Such cartons are usually molded from a foam plastic material, but may be molded from pulp or other moldable materials. The cover section extending entirely over the tray section is detachably locked to the tray section by various types of molded locks, interengageable between the cover section and the tray section.
While such locks may lock the cover section to extend over the tray section, the cover section completely covers the articles contained in the carton, tempting a prospective purchaser to release the lock of the cover section to handle the eggs or other articles which may be contained in the carton. This is a disadvantage since the cover section frequently is left unlocked by the prospective purchaser and reduces the desirability of displaying the cartons when loaded with eggs for sale and affords only nominal protection to the eggs or other articles contained in the carton.
While such cartons are used for eggs they normally contain only a dozen eggs due to lack in rigidity of the carton and unless the carton is made of a heavier gauge than normal, which increases the expense of molding the carton, it could not economically be enlarged to contain more than one dozen eggs.
Molded cartons for eggs and the like have also been made, having an overwrap enveloping the carton. The carton has side panels hinged to the side edges of the carton and extending above the tops of the eggs in the carton and enveloped in a shrink film held out of contact with the eggs by the panels.
By my present invention, bolsters extend over the articles in the carton at each corner of the carton and are hinged to the sidewalls of the carton and extend upwardly of the articles carried in the carton, and side panels connect said bolsters together but stop short of the tops of the bolsters and articles carried in the carton. The bolsters are hinged to extend over the articles carried in each corner of the carton, and the side panels connecting the bolsters together extend upwardly of the top surface of the carton, along the eggs or other articles carried thereby, but terminate short of the tops of the eggs or other articles carried by the carton.
A carton when loaded is slipped into a plastic bag which may be a polyvinyl or PCV bag of a type which will contract when heated. The bag forms an overwrap extending over the tops of the bolsters and is passed through a heat shrink oven or tunnel and then cooled. The heating shrinks the overwrap to the extent that it is sufficiently taut to retain the bolsters into engagement with the top surface of the carton and to rigidify the carton so the carton when filled with eggs or other articles may readily be handled and observed by the purchaser of the eggs. The carton and eggs are then immediately passed to a refrigerated medium. The side panels are rigidified and further limited from inward movement toward the eggs by embossments projecting upwardly of the side edges of the carton.
An advantage of the invention is that the corner bolsters and heat shrink film provide a rigid carton capable of holding more than the usual dozen of eggs, without deforming the carton when handled, or rendering the eggs subject to breakage when stacking the cartons.
A further advantage of the invention is that the corner bolsters enable ready stacking of the cartons one on top of the other when filled with eggs and retain the eggs in one carton out of contact with the eggs in the carton thereabove.
Other advantages and objects will appear from time to time as the following specification proceeds and with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: